Oh no, my phone’s battery is low. What about you?

Send Cathy a text:)FACT:  You have 168 hours a week.  24 hours a day.  No more.  How many hours do you work your job or business?How many hours do you spend working around your home?How many hours running errands?Now at the time of the podcast - it’s holiday season. How many hours are you shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating or doing other activities of the season?How many hours do you spend caregiving?Time for you?Have you said any of these words out loud or to yourself  I am so tired?  I can barely make it through the day.  I would give anything to take a nap.  I can’t remember the last time I had a goodnight sleep. I just keep drinking caffeine hoping to stay awake. I want to share a couple stories with you.  These two stories are my own.  I didn’t want to realize my reality.  I didn’t want to face that I couldn’t do it all.  I lied to myself that things would get better.   I was at a virtual conference this week and listened to Michael Hyatt and this so resonated with me  “Resist the illusion to think your workload is temporary.”  I kept telling myself that life would get better and this wouldn’t be forever.  I needed to take a trip to the honest planet and come clean - I needed to changeI let this go on and on for months.  Looking back, I now recognize it.  I also see the negative results:  I gained 30 pounds, didn’t get my yearly raise, disconnected with my friends, and struggled with health issues.  This is hard for me to talk about.  People kept telling me I was an inspiration but deep inside I was so tired.  I felt exhausted all the time.  I felt like a failure.  But one can only do what they can do.  One can only do what you know and think is right.  Friend, I am telling you that it’s time to take a look in that mirror and really ask yourself are you being honest with yourself.  If you want to reduce fatigue, you need to start with recognition.  Look at your week and write down all the things you have on your schedule.  All the details.  Evaluate how you are spending your time.  What things were necessary?  (sleep, nutrition)What things could you get help with? (home chores)What things were missing?  (time away)What things could you eliminate or get efficiency in  (online deliveries)You can’t put more coffee in your filled cupUnfortunately there is not a quick fix to Caregiver Fatigue or Caregiver Stress.  But what I know is that you can take baby steps.  You deserve it.  You can’t drink from an empty cupSupport the show